Sewing-machine



(No Model.) I

E. T. THOMAS. I

SEWING MACHINE.

No. 281,649. #Patented July 17, 188s;

MTNESEEE ihk/ENTER Q. l A EdyfZTT/wmas. 'm/f. @ag wy M67 M047.'

lgs,

UNITED STATES f PATENT OFFICE.

EDDY T. THOMAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., Ass'IGNOn TO THE NEW HOME sEwiNG MACHINE COMPANY, OE ORANGE, MAssAOHUsETTs.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,649, dated July 17, 1883.

Application lcd January 8, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDDY T. THOMAS, of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Sewing-Machines, of which the f'ollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention in sewing-machines relates to improvements in mechanism for automatically lifting the presser-foot while the needle is in the goods, and so that the needle may serve as a pivot for turning the goods while the feed is being lowered and moving backward; also in mechanism for winding the bobbin and controlling the tension on the needlethread.

My improved presser-foot-lifting apparatus includes a lever having its fulcrum upon a 1ongitudinally-adj ustable screw-pin placed across the head of the machine, the' said pin being made adjustable toward and from `the center line of the head and the actuating-cam for the said lever, to thus control the throw of theA lever and the extent of upward movement of the presser-foot, the said cam being' carried by or made movable with the needle-bar-operating shaft.

The bobbin-winder contains apivoted frame which holds the winding-spindle, and a springpresser curved-to fit the bobbin and its thread, and adapted to yield to the increasing diameter ofthe thread and cause it to be wound smoothly upon the bobbin. The bobbin-winder also has a device by lwhich to effect the stoppage of movement of the bobbin-winder wheny the bobbin has been lled.

The tension device is composed of a grooved wheel and a stationary disk at one side of it,1 and suitable springs to regulate the force required to turn the saidwheel or the pressure ofthe disk against the wheel, the wheel and disk being so arranged that the operator may, if desired, control the tension on the needlethread by winding it once about the wheel and r holding the wheel frictionally, or by pressure between the disk and wheel, as will be described.

Figure l represents in side elevation a sewing-machine embodying my invention, with the head partially broken away to the better show the presser-foot-lifting apparatus. Fig. 2 shows the interior of the head-plate removed from the head of the machine, but with the presser-foot and its hand lifting-lever in place. Fig. 3 shows the head of the machine with the head-plate removed. Fig. 4. is a detail, enlarged, showing in cross-section the auxiliary presser-foot-lifting lever and the collar which carries its fulcrum, and also a part of the screw-pin, Fig. 5, a plan or top'view of the rear part of the machine shown in Fig. l, to illustrate the bobbi'n-winder; Fig. 6, a partial section of Fig. 5 on the dotted line x x, but enlarged, Fig. 7, a rear side view ofthe disk of the main shaft, and Fig. 8 a detail of the tension device.

The frame-work A of the machine, of any usual or suitable shape, has in its upper part the rotating needle-bar-operating `shaft a, on which is placed the usual disk, b, provided with a crank-pin, b', to operate the needle-bar, as common in the Home sewing-machine. At the rear of the disk b is acam, c, (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3, and in full lines, Fig. 7 which at each rotation of the shaft c, and while the needle of the machine (not shown) is inthe cloth or material, strikes the upper end of an auxiliary presser-foot-lifting lever, d. This lever d has its fulcrum on a pin, d, extended from a collar, cl2, placed, as shown in Fig. 4, on a reduced part, 2, of an adjustable screw-pin, e, extended transversely across the head of the machine, as in Fig. '3. The screw-pin e has ashoulder (best shown in Fig 4L) to bear' against the collar dz when it is desired to force the lever d toward the center of the head of the machine to enable the. cam .c to act upon and turn the lever d more or less, according to the position of the fulcrum` d with relation to a vertical line let fall from the center of the shaft a. The screw-pin has at one end a screwthread, 3, which enters a threaded hole in the head, as in Fig. 3, and at the large endthe said pin is slotted to be engaged by a screw-driver. The lower end of the lever d is curved to eX- tend under and engage the pin 4 on the usual hand operated presser-lifting lever, f, so that each movement of the lever d in engagement with the said pin causes the lever j' to be IOO turned and its upper side to act upon the block f/, attached, as usual, tothe presser-bar 71, thus automatically lifting the said bar and its foot h from and while the needleis in the cloth. The lever d might act directly upon a pill inserted in the presser-bar; but I preferto have it act upon apin in the lever f, to give leverage. The shaft a has upon it the usual belt-pulley, t', over which is passed the usual drivin g-belt, m, which acts against and turns the belt-pulley an. on the spindle of the bobbin-winding device, the frame mt' of which is pivoted at 6, and which has one spring center, m3, of usual construction, to hold between it and the spindle the shuttle-bobbin lz and cause the latter to be revolved.

In Fig. 6 the bobbin is shown as having some thread already wound upon it. rIhe thread tis led from a spool, B, under a tension-spring, o, (see Fig. 5,) on a lever, o, pivoted at o2 on the frame of the machine, and adapted, when not in use, to be turned under the bed-plate. The thread is taken from the tension-spring o over the convexcd end of thc smoothing or presser spring p, fastened by screw p to a fixed part, p2, of the winder, the said spring being extended outward under the bobbin and up in front of the same, as in Figs. l, 5, and 6, and being provided with shoulders 7 to limit the traverse ofthe thread over the said convex surface. The concaved upper side of the spring fits closely against the thread on the bobbin, causes it to be wound thereon in compact uniform layers, and yields to the increasing diameter of the mass of thread as it is wound on the bobbin. After the bobbin has been filled, the lower side of the spring p strikes the free end of the relieving device r, made as a latch provided with a hook, lr, and causes the hook to be drawn down below the cross-piece or projection r2 of the b0bbinwinder frame, permitting the said frame to turn toward the machine-arm, and so lessen the pressure of' the wheel m from the belt m as to obviate turning the said wheel.

The tension device for the needle-thread is composed essentially of a grooved wheel, s, on -a spindle, s, and a thin metal disk, s?. One side ofthe wheel s is pressed against a spring, s, and the disk s is pressed against the other side of the said wheel, as in Fig. S. On the spindle s is a nut, s, by which to regulate the force required to turn the wheel, and also the amount of pressure between the disk and the said wheel.

rlhe operator may pass the -needle-thread once about the tension-whcel s in its groove, and the latter will rotate on the spindle as the thread is drawn forward by. the needle or stitch-forming mechanism, but if the operator desires to regulate the tension by the pressure of a spring bearing directly upon the needlethread, then the needle-thread may be drawn between the disk s2 and the side of the wheel s. The wheel-tension is considered best by most operators; but some others, for certain classes of work and thread, prefer to use the disk-tension.

I claim- 1. The auxiliary presser-foot-lifting lever d, having its fulcrum 011 the block d2, and the longitudinally-adjustable screw-pin, and cam c to move the said lever, combined with and adapted to automatically lift the presser-foot from the material, substantially as described.

2. The longitudinally-adjustable screw-pin provided with the shoulder, and inserted in the head of the machine transversely, and the main shaft a, and a cam, c, moved by it, and the auxiliary presser-foot-lilting lever d, and the block d2, and fulcrum for the said lever, combined with the presser-foot, and intermediate connections between it and the said lever l to automatically lift the presser-foot, substantially as described.

3. rIhe combination, with the bobbin-winder frame having the fixed part p2, of the spring j), fixed to said part, and projecting below and curved upward over the bobbin, and provided with the convex thread-guiding surface and shoulders 7 7, substantially as shown and described. y.

4. The bobbin-winder frame provided with the projection r2, combined with the fixed thread-guiding spring p, the relieving device r, and the hook l" on said relieving device to engage the projection r2 by the descent of the spring p consequent upon the filling ol' the bobbin to relieve the bobbin-winder l'rom the rotary action of the machine-belt, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with the bobbin-winder, of the lever o, having the tension-spring o', and the machine-bed to which said lever is pivoted, and adapted to be concealed thereunder, substantially as shown and described.

6. The grooved tension-wheel s and disk .5,

and spindle, combined with a spring and adjusting nut or device, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDDY T. THOMAS.

IOO 

